Mikel Arteta has insisted that he must "earn the right" to extend his stay at Arsenal beyond the remaining 18 months of his contract. As he marks his sixth year in the role, speculation about his future has been fuelled by discussions regarding the tenures of Pep Guardiola and Enzo Maresca at their respective clubs.
When questioned about whether he envisages himself staying on past his current contract, he responded: "Yes, but it is about today and a lot of things have to happen in the next few months, as well, to earn the right. I think the manager has to earn the right to be here tomorrow. That is how you react, how you talk here, how you go in the dressing room, the message that you send, how much the players follow you.
"I always said that you need support, I said it before. From the ownership and the board, it's great. At the end, the most important one is those players.
"You open that door, you confront them, you talk to them, and they are like this [imitates engaged expression], or they are like this [pretends to sleep]. And for six years, I have seen just players with a level of attention and desire to learn, and give the maximum to the team.
"That is what keeps me in this job. Nothing else. And, obviously, winning a lot of football matches that, percentage-wise, I think is quite high. That is the only way. If not, you cannot survive in this environment."
Arteta has once again thrown his support behind beleaguered striker Viktor Gyokeres, expressing confidence that the Swedish player will find his form in north London. "Well, I think the level of attention on him hasn't changed since he signed to today. It's normal," Arteta explained.
"Everybody was so excited to bring him into the club.
"We did it. We brought a player with an incredible scoring record who had to adapt to the league. He had no pre-season.
"The first few weeks were difficult because physically he wasn't in his best state, and he's a player that needs that, like any other player in this league, almost to perform at that level. Then he kicked on. I think he had a really good period, and he got injured.
"And now he's back. I saw a lot of positive things in the last two games that he's done. I know we need to continue to tweak and understand him a little bit better in certain situations, and he needs to do the same, but that's about time. We have full support for him."